


Bully

by hellodarling



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Fluff, M/M, Mentions of bullying and applied/implied homophobia, non angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-24
Updated: 2013-05-24
Packaged: 2017-12-12 20:45:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/815874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hellodarling/pseuds/hellodarling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis played hero when Harry really didn’t need to be saved.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bully

**Author's Note:**

> Note: Okay, I know the title and summary sounds like this is somekinda epic angsty stuff…but really…it’s not…it’s really light and I don’t know…fluffy even…well, enjoy and tell me what you think.
> 
> Note 2: Got the idea from reading something months ago.
> 
> First posted on my Tumblr: boboyaboo.tumblr.com
> 
> Comments and kudos welcome and thank you for reading ^^

**Bully**

Louis Tomlinson was the kind of boy who had always felt that he was pretty normal. He got decent grade, friends that he grew up with but had never been really close to, and he went out to party sometimes…just a normal teenager. Despite being one of the most popular senior in school and had to endure girls talking about him as he walked down the hallway, he had stopped ever trying to smile politely at them because that would just send them into a squealing and giggling frenzy that he just doesn’t need.

The school he went to was filled with teenagers that thought social acceptance was crucial for their survival in school, everyone followed the rules out of principles, everyone strives to be accepted as normal or cool when being different was possibly the one thing that they have going on for themselves.

He was used to it, having gone through those feelings on a daily basis, living day in, day out in school and not really paying much attention to his surroundings, what he was learning, or anything for that matter.

But he couldn’t help to notice when three boys he knew as notorious trouble makers from a grade below him slammed someone, a younger boy, into the pavement with so much force he could feel the pain vibrate through his spine.

His breath hitched in his chest when he saw the boy land on the asphalt, hard enough for splatters of blood to fly out of his mouth. The boy’s head was covered in blood, and it only took Louis a heartbeat from when he saw blood streamed down the side of the boy’s face to pull the boy who had done the last damage by the collar and dug his knee into his stomach with all the strength he could muster.

The boy doubled over with a surprised curse and moan, hands clutching his stomach in shock, staring at Louis with wide eyes as the older boy released him and stepped backwards. Recognition washed over the three boys’ expressions as they stop moving and drop their defensive demeanor.  
  
“You…You’re like him?” One of them pointed, more accusingly rather than questioningly. Louis glanced at the boy huddled over the pavement, wiping the blood off his mouth with his long sleeve. Pupils blown out of proportion inside the green eyes that were staring at him in shock and horror, but there was another emotion in those eyes, almost as if they were pleading for him…of what, he didn’t understand at that moment just yet.  
  
“I might be and that is most definitely none of your concern!” Louis answered defiantly, clenching his hands in the hope to show more domination. To his surprise, the three boys flinched back, looking among each other with a confused look before running off with a warning that Louis should watch his back.

At the sight of them disappearing around the corner Louis turned around and kneeled beside the beaten boy, offering a hand up. The boy took it and accepted Louis’ help to get him on his feet without much fuss.   
  
The boy’s nose were dripping with blood and the corner of his left eye had what looked like a deep gash that run and disappeared just behind a tuft of curly hair that was matted with blood. He was a bit taller than Louis, and he shook off his grip the second he was back on his feet.

Louis tried to start, “You okay mate?” His question was met with a silent wiping of blood, “I’m…”

“Louis Tomlinson, yes, I know… **everybody** knows!” The boy walked a short distance away and searched into a bush, emerging out of it with a tattered school bag, “I’m Harry and you shouldn’t’ve done that, now they’ll come after you too.”  
  
Louis raises an eyebrow, “Why would they?”

There was a glint of realization in Harry’s eyes as the boy smirked at him, and Louis wonders how he could be so so calm and collected while he looked like hell just ran over him.

Harry made a last feeble attempt to adjust his clothes and wiped traces of blood on him before starting to walk away, or rather limping away, “I’m gay.”

Louis’ heart broke a little over how the words came out almost as a tiny choke of whisper.

“And now they'll think you are too.”

“Oh…” Was the only respond he could muster…watching Harry’s back as the boy limped away.

He didn’t know why but Louis was pretty sure that was the strongest back he had ever seen.

  
——-

  
  
By the next day it was everywhere. The murmurs and whispers that had always followed him changed in nature and tone, people were staring wherever he went, and he tried not to let it get to him but little by little it eats him.

But than he realized, just after spending lunch eating alone, that it was Harry he kept thinking about.

So he sought out the boy, who turned out to also be a year under him, after school and walked home with him despite obvious uncertainty in Harry’s eyes.

They walked slowly in silence for a while, Harry still limped a bit, before he finally speaks up, “You should tell them you’re not.”

“Did you see that yellow bench?” Louis said instead, pointing at an insignificant general direction.

Harry frowned, “So?”

Louis wrestled Harry’s phone from him and triumphantly saved the number into his own phone. They said goodbye once they arrived at Harry’s house, which was a good three blocks the opposite way of Louis’ house.

He walked pass a park and took a picture of a sunflower. He sent the picture to Harry that night along with the word ‘Sunshine’.  

  
  
——

  
  
It takes the school three days to get over the news. Louis didn’t act differently because he was still Louis.

Though on his way home one day, someone threw an egg at him and it hits him in the back of the head. He touches the yolk and pulls a shell off his hair with a straight face, and kept walking.

  
  
—-

  
  
The next week he wasn’t so lucky anymore, he was ambushed on the way to school and supported a black eye when he finally arrived to his first class. He bore with it, because he was worried about Harry, ridiculously worried, and when he saw Harry, the younger boy was unharmed and he sighed in relieve.

He wasn’t sure when that started to matter.

 

——

 

Louis sat, hiding, on a back stairwell during lunch. He nearly dislocated his fingers trying to pull out the handcuffs that chained his wrists until Harry found him and pulled them out for him.

“You have to learn to escape from these things Louis.” Harry snorted, mocking the older boy of his survival skills.

Louis paid attention to Harry showing him how to do just that by putting it on and off several times. Much later he couldn’t remember anything but how warm and firm Harry’s hand had been, touching his skin.

“Thanks.”

Harry was staring at him again, preaching about the art of surviving bullies with his usual roll of the eyes and slight condescending speech and just spouting adorable all over the place. Louis wasn’t listening, as usual, until the younger boy poked him.

“Hey! Stop pretending to be gay for me.” Harry mocked a pout and Louis reached over to tug at the dimples that appeared.

Louis grinned, “I’m not.” And lovingly patted the dimples hard. He felt something constricted in his chest when Harry flinched and shoved his hands away.

“I’m serious Lou! You’re not gay and you shouldn’t keep getting beaten up for it.”

“I’m not.” He repeats.

Harry scowled, “What do you mean you’re not?” Sliding on the wall next to him, dropping his gaze, Louis could feel the aggravation radiating off of him.

“I mean, I’m not. Pretending…I’m not. I’m starting to think I’m not really as normal as I thought.”

The younger boy rolled his eyes at him again and rubs his neck, messing the collar of his uniform. Louis reached to fix it and Harry leaned into the touch absentmindedly, “You’ve never been normal.” He said, watching with honesty, long fingers drawing circles on Louis’ arm.

“You send weird pictures and one word text messages just because you felt like it, you drink coffee like water even though you prefer tea just so you won’t be asleep all day, You hated stripes and braces but you wear them a lot because your sister told you you look good in them, you don’t wear shocks and your feet smells. You were one of the most popular boy in school but you’ve never even been on a date because you were too busy playing hero to a gay kid.”

Louis lets his fingers lingered on the nape of the younger boy’s neck, he should be keeping a distance but he doesn’t want to.  
  
“You’re a bully, to yourself, and you need to stop pretending to be something you’re not.” Harry was shaking when he stood up, his face flushed and he refused to look at Louis. “You’re not gay.” He repeats, and it’s almost like a mantra in Louis’ head…and it’s all wrong.  
  
Louis wondered how Harry could get it so right but so wrong, all at once. He felt like Harry just cracked his head open, and the world was full of so much colour that it was almost too saturated. But yellow was the dominant one, because yellow was sunshine and sunflowers and Harry.

 

——-

 

The same boys Louis once saved Harry from kicked him hard and he fell down gasping for breath. Two of them hauled him up to his feet and shoved him against a wall, another’s hand around his neck.

“Filthy queer!” They said like some big shot.

Louis tried to smile because he pitied them, “At least I know who I am.” He choked through blood and the sting of a split lip.

A fist connected with Louis’ nose and his head hit a brick wall. The hand on his neck lets go and he slid down the wall.

“I’m not ashamed.”

They didn’t seem to like his answer because they hit and kick him again and again until Louis was sure he would never be able to see those amazing green eyes again until a stranger came and chased the culprits away.

The man helped him up, much like the way he helped Harry up all those weeks ago, and asked if he needed to go to the hospital. Louis shook him off as politely as possible making sure the man knew his gratitude before inching his way home.

It was not until he stood in front of the white pristine door that he realized it was not his house.

He pressed the doorbell, pulled a loose molar out and swallowed blood when the door opened, he fell into a pair of strong arms.

Louis couldn’t help but to chuckle a little when Harry gasped in surprise, “Lou! What did they do to you?”

“Helping me realize.” He grinned, putting his arms around the curly haired boy, giddy by the look of concern on the young face. And because he didn’t like it when Harry wasn’t smiling, he dropped his bag unto the floor and smashed their lips together. When Louis pulled away Harry’s mouth was covered in blood and gaping in shock.

Louis laughed a little but it made him flinch because his head was throbbing all of the sudden.

“Oh my God you have a concussion!” And Harry was frantically screaming for his sister to come help him.

“You’re right, I've never been normal. But I really really like you okay?” He manage to say before he couldn’t feel anything else but the strength of a young boy keeping him up.

 

——

 

Louis recognizes the white wall and that overwhelming smell that could only mean hospital when he next opened his eyes to find Harry slumped over the side of the bed, and Louis feels like he's floating on a cloud. He's not really sure if that's him or the drugs, but he does know that Harry’s hands are over his, and it feels pretty wonderful. 

  
And even though Harry can be really young, and really annoying with his slow and condescending speech, overconfident smirks, and heavy curls, Louis is pretty sure that it's okay - because Harry is kind of his idol right now, and he can sort of understand all the girls that would squeal over him in the corridors, when Harry wakes up, smiles, and greeted him with a kiss.

 

—-fin—-


End file.
